T h e H e i s t
by J. B. Tilton
Summary: The team reopens the case of a bank robbery in 1973 that took 11 lives when indicators point to an undiscovered accomplice involved in the robbery.
1. Chapter 1

COLD CASE

The Heist

By J. B. Tilton (a.k.a. NoAzMale) and Teri Thibeault (a.k.a. Tessalynne)

Emails:

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Rating: G

Disclaimer: "Cold Case" and all related characters and events are the property of Jerry Bruckheimer and the CBS Corporation, except for those characters specifically created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.

(Authors' note: This story takes place between season 1 episodes "The Runner" and "Love Conquers Al".)

The team reopens the case of a bank robbery in 1973 that took 11 lives when indicators point to an undiscovered accomplice involved in the robbery.

PROLOGUE

November 1, 1973, 2:04 p.m.

Two gunmen stood in the lobby of the bank each brandishing a shotgun. One stood near the teller's counter where a group of people huddled on the floor. The other stood in the middle of the lobby watching the front door. Suddenly two more men, both brandishing shotguns, came out of the vault, each carrying a bag. All of the gunmen were wearing ski masks that covered their features. As the two that had just exited the vault rounded the teller's counter, 2 uniformed policemen came rushing in the front door.

"Drop your weapons and get down on the floor," cried out one of the policemen as the two brandished their service revolvers.

The masked man standing in the middle of the lobby turned toward the front door aiming his shotgun at the officers. Before he could get off a shot one of the officers fired, hitting him squarely in the chest. He went down on the floor as the gunmen and policemen began to exchange gunfire. The crowd of people huddled underneath the teller's counter quickly began to disperse as they all ran for whatever cover or safety they could find.

Not all of them were successful. Several fell to the floor bleeding from gunshot wounds. Just as suddenly as it had started the gunfire stopped. The 2 officers lay dead on the floor and several of the people also lay dead or dying. One of the masked men checked the one that had been shot by the policeman.

"He's dead," he announced.

"Let's get out of here before more show up," screamed one of the other masked men. As the 3 made their way to the door he turned to the crowd of scattered people. "Anyone sticks their head out for 5 minutes they get it blown off." Then he turned and followed his two compatriots out the front door of the bank.

No one moved for several moments. Suddenly several began to cautiously make their way to the front doors as they heard sirens in the distance grow closer. Within a few moments one of the men stood next to the front doors. He cautiously peered around the door but saw no gunmen waiting outside.

"I think they're gone," he announced, moving back into the bank.

Several of the other people had all ready begun to check the bodies lying on the floor. Blood was everywhere and the smell of gunpowder hung heavy in the air. A man, 29 years of age with brown hair and wearing a dark suit stepped out from behind the teller's counter. He surveyed the scene. The 2 policemen and at least 7 people lay on the floor dead or wounded. Suddenly several more uniformed policemen rushed in the front door, weapons drawn.

"No, wait," called out the man in the dark suit, "I'm Carter Sheraton. I'm one of the loan officers here. They went out the front door. Three of them wearing ski masks. Maybe a minute or so ago."

"Did you see which way they went?" asked a policeman wearing sergeant stripes on his sleeve.

"No, we were all down on the floor," said Sheraton.

"They must have had a car waiting," said the man who had looked out the front door. "I got to the door only a few seconds after they left but they were all ready gone."

"Okay, everyone just take it easy," said the sergeant. "Help is on its way. Moody, go call it in. Let them know we have cop killers on the loose."

"On my way, sarge," said one of the uniforms, turning to head for the squad cars sitting in the front of the bank.

The sergeant looked around. It was a bloodbath in the bank. Many of the wounded probably wouldn't survive. In his 22 years on the force he had never seen such a massacre. He had seen people shot before but never such a senseless slaughter as this. Silently he prayed that the scum that had done this would be brought to justice.

November 1, 1973, 8:17 p.m.

It appeared that nearly half the police force sat on the street in front of a house on E. Mt. Pleasant Avenue. All of the surrounding houses had been evacuated and the people from those houses were all gathered at the end of the block well away from the policemen and the house.

"Throw out your weapons and come out with your hands up," a police lieutenant announced over a megaphone he was holding. "You won't be harmed."

There was no response from inside the house.

"Are you sure they're in there?" asked the sergeant who had earlier that day witnessed the massacre in the bank.

"They're in there," said the lieutenant. "We tracked them here from the information we got on the dead robber at the bank. They've been holding us off for over an hour now."

"Is there anyone else in the house?"

"We don't think so. Just the 3 bank robbers and probably the money they got away with. I think it's time we used some teargas to flush them out. We can't sit out here all night."

"I'll let everyone else know," said the sergeant.

"Ten minutes. Then we go in."

The sergeant moved off, careful to remain behind the police cars, to let the rest of the policemen know what was going on. The men in the house had all ready proven they had no compunction about killing if they felt threatened. And they had no compunction about killing policemen.

Ten minutes later teargas was fired into the windows of the house. Every policeman surrounding the house had their weapons trained on the house ready for anything. Smoke began to pour out the windows of the house.

Suddenly the front door burst open and 2 men came running out, coughing. They opened fire with shotguns aimed at the police in front of the house. Every cop in the street opened up on the two. Within seconds the two men lay dead on the yard out front of the house.

At the same time a man opened the back door to the house and began to sneak out the back yard. As he did a flashlight suddenly illuminated him from the alley beyond and someone identified themselves as the police and told him not to move. The man leveled his shotgun at the light and fired. Almost instantly several policemen opened up on him and, like his two friends in the front yard, he lay dead in the backyard.

Miraculously none of the police officers had been injured by the gunfire from the bank robbers. The police quickly moved in, kicking the weapons away so that the men couldn't reach them. They all knew it was probably not necessary. The men were obviously dead. But it was always best to play it safe. The house was searched thoroughly. As the bodies of the dead men were taken to the coroner's office for an autopsy a policeman walked up to the lieutenant.

"There's very little money in the house, sir," said the officer. "A few thousand dollars maybe."

"What?" exclaimed the lieutenant. "That can't be right. They got away with over 10 million dollars. It has to be in the house."

"We'll search it again but I don't think we're going to find anything. Unless it's hidden in the walls or under the floorboards."

"Tear the house apart if you have to," said the lieutenant, angry at the turn of events. "I want that money found."

"Yes, sir," said the officer, turning and heading back into house.

ONE

November 1, 2003

As Stillman came into the squad room he noticed Will setting up a small portable television on his desk.

"Will, what's with the TV?"

"Channel 6 is having a retrospective today," said Will. "I thought it might be interesting to watch."

"Oh, that's right," said Stillman, glancing at a calendar on the desk he was standing next to. "The heist. I had almost forgotten. Thirty years ago today."

"That's right," said Will. "I just thought we might watch as much of it as we can."

"Thirty years ago what today?" Lilly asked walking into the squad room, Nick close behind her.

"The big bank heist," said Will.

"Biggest bank robbery in Philly history at the time," said Stillman. "Thirty years ago today four men walked into the Mayfair branch of the First Trust Bank with shotguns and held it up. Got away with over 10 million dollars in cash."

"That's right," said Lilly. "I remember learning about it in school. One of the bank robbers was killed in the bank, wasn't he?"

"Yeah," said Stillman. "One of the tellers was able to set off the silent alarm and a patrol was nearby having lunch. They were the first on the scene."

"And got killed, from what I remember," said Nick. "Along with 5 employees and bank patrons."

"That's right," said Will. "The bank robbers wouldn't surrender. A gunfight ensued and two bank employees and three patrons were caught in the crossfire. Later that night they cornered the remaining 3 bank robbers at a house on E. Mt. Pleasant Avenue and they were killed while the police were trying to arrest them."

"And the money was never recovered," said Stillman. "No one ever figured out what happened to the money. Somewhere out there is over 10 million dollars in cash just rotting away."

"Nice chunk of change," said Nick.

"You sure they got all the robbers?" Lilly asked. "Maybe one of them got away with the money."

"No, they got them all," said Stillman. "Everyone in the bank said there were 4 robbers and all 4 were accounted for. They probably hid the money somewhere and planned to go back after it after all the fuss had died down. But they were cornered in that house and shot. So the money went unrecovered."

"Quiet," said Will. "The program is coming on."

They group sat watching the program as did most of the others in the squad room. Occasionally someone had to answer the phone but for the most part everyone watched as the commentator told about the robbery and subsequent killing of the robbers.

"_Officers Arthur Forney and Mark Richards were brutally murdered when they attempted to apprehend the bank robbers. One of the robbers, Erin Miles, was also killed in the gunfight as was Clarrissa Jones, one of the tellers. In addition, Richard Porter, Ellen Vincent, and Chuck Raymond, patrons of the bank, were killed during the gunfight. Carlton Grimes, personal secretary to the bank president, was brutally murdered execution style with a gunshot to the back of the head by one of the robbers. The remaining 3 bank robbers, Jerome Stapleton, John Harris, and William Harrington, were all killed later that night in a police standoff at a house where the police had tracked them. The $10,406,000.00 the robbers got away with was never recovered."_

The program lasted only half an hour and when it was over everyone went back to work. Stillman and Will stood talking about the case for several minutes, being 2 of the few officers old enough to actually remember the robbery.

"I had forgotten about it," said Lilly. "It must have been a bloodbath in the bank that day."

"It was," said Will. "It was not only the largest bank robbery in Philly history it was also one of the worst mass murders as well. And one of the largest manhunts. The bank put a plaque in its lobby to commemorate what happened that day."

"Not to mention an execution style murder," said Nick. "Boy, I'll bet that was a bloody mess. A shotgun blast to the back of the head? Probably wasn't enough left of poor Grimes to tell who he was."

"Caring as always, huh, Nick?" Lilly asked, smiling at him.

"Hey, I'm just saying," replied Nick.

"Actually it wasn't a shotgun blast to the head," said Will. "As I recall it was a .22 caliber bullet the robbers used. One shot behind the left ear. He was probably dead before he hit the floor."

"Why did they do that?" Lilly asked. "Why did they execute the president's personal secretary like that?"

"The police theorized that he must have seen one of their faces," said Stillman. "So they killed him to keep him from identifying them."

"Well, weren't they all wearing ski masks?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah, what's your point?" Stillman asked.

"If they were wearing ski masks how could anyone have seen their faces? No one else apparently saw their faces."

"They drug him back into the vault to help load the money into the bags," said Will. "Maybe he saw one of their faces then."

"But why would they take off their masks?" Lilly asked. "If I remember it only took something like 7 or 8 minutes for them to load the money and leave the bank. Why would one of them take off their mask if they were in there less than 10 minutes?"

"She's got a point," said Will, looking at Stillman.

"And why shoot Grimes with a .22?" Lilly asked. "You said they all had shotguns. If they were going to kill him why not just use the shotgun? And why kill him in the hallway that leads back to the offices? Why not just kill him in the vault? Why lead him to the back of the bank to kill him?"

"I guess I just never thought about it before," said Stillman. "Now that you mention it, it does seem odd. And I guess the police were so intent on catching the robbers and recovering the money back then that those questions just never came up."

"Plus, a lot of people died in that bank that day," said Nick. "One body more or less wouldn't be noticed too much."

"I also wonder why they went all the way into the vault," said Lilly. "Most bank robbers hit the teller windows and take all the cash. Why take the risk of going all the way into the vault?"

"The bank had just received a shipment of money from the Federal Reserve that morning," said Stillman. "It was a bigger haul."

"And the robbers knew that how?" questioned Lilly. "The delivery dates and times of those shipments are not exactly something a bank is going to advertise. Who would have known they had just gotten that delivery?"

"Certainly the bank employees," said Will. "Banks routinely get shipments like that to replace the money they give out to their customers."

"Except as Lilly said," said Nick, "it's not something a bank is going to want to advertise. Too much risk of someone trying to rip them off, just like what happened in 1973. She has a good question boss. How did they know the bank had that amount of actual cash on hand? If I remember, November 1 was a Thursday in 1973. Not exactly a payday or major financial day where the bank would need a large amount of cash."

"Maybe they just got lucky," said Will. "Just happened to hit the bank just after the money had been delivered."

"A coordinated bank robbery in under 10 minutes and they just happen to pick a day when the bank is loaded to the gills?" questioned Lilly. "That just seems a little too coincidental to me, boss."

"Not to mention they all but ignored the teller's windows," said Will. "They went straight to the vault, according to the eyewitnesses. It does seem a bit odd."

"Yeah, I guess it does," said Stillman.

"Unless it wasn't an accident," said Will. "What if there was an inside man, just as Lilly intimated earlier? That would explain how the robbers knew the money would be in vault at that time."

"You mean Grimes?" Stillman questioned. "So Grimes lets them know when the money is going to arrive. They come in, clean out the vault, and kill Grimes to cover their tracks."

"Something like that," said Will. "Split the money 4 ways instead of 5."

"That still doesn't explain why they would use a .22 to kill Grimes instead of shooting him with one of the shotguns," said Lilly. "Or why they wouldn't just kill him in the vault. Why did they take him all the way into the back of the bank to kill him? I would think they wouldn't want to waste the time."

"Unless Grimes wasn't the inside man," said Nick. "What if someone else was the inside man? Whoever that was wouldn't be wearing a mask. What if Grimes was just another bank employee who was forced to help the robbers? He might have discovered who the inside man was."

"That would explain why he was murdered," said Lilly. "To keep him from identifying which bank employee was aiding in the robbery."

"Makes sense to me," said Will. "It also means there may be another accomplice still out there. And it's conceivable they're still alive."

"Except that any statute of limitations on bank robbery would have run out long ago," said Nick.

"Not on murder," said Stillman. "Eight people died in the bank that day, including 2 policemen. And three more died later that day as a consequence of the robbery. Capital murder laws weren't in effect in 1973 but whoever it was can still be charged with murder. If there was an inside accomplice maybe we should take another look at the case."

"It sure would be nice to recover that 10 million dollars," said Nick. "This one has been on the books for 30 years. I'll bet a lot of people would like to see it closed out."

"Start in the archives," said Stillman. "See what you can find out about the events of that day. Will and I will see if we can find out how many bank employees still work at the bank today."

"I know one who does," said Will. "Carter Sheraton. Back then he was a junior bank officer. Now he's the president of the bank."

"That's a place to start," said Stillman. "This was a big news item back in the day. So there should be a lot of information on it. Maybe we'll get lucky and something will give us an indication who the inside man was."

"You think he's still around, boss?" Lilly asked. "The money was never recovered. Whoever the inside man was probably collected it and disappeared with it. That would explain why it's never been recovered."

"Probably," said Stillman. "But at least maybe we can identify who the inside man was. Then it will simply mean tracking them down and having them extradited back to Philly for prosecution. Assuming they're still alive."

"We're on it, boss," said Lilly. "Come on, Nick. Let's go read up on a bank robbery."

Nick grabbed his cup of coffee as he and Lilly headed for the archives room.


	2. Chapter 2

TWO

The material about the bank robbery took up 4 full boxes. Even though a total of 11 people had died they were all linked to the bank robbery. So all the information was contained in those files. There was a plethora of information including eye witness accounts, police reports, autopsy reports, and so on. Lilly and Nick spent the next couple of hours sifting through the information.

"Well, it seems to be pretty much the way Will and the boss described," said Nick, looking through yet another police report on the incident. "Four gunmen all armed with shotguns and wearing ski masks walked into the bank at 1:57 p.m. on November 1, 1973. Two gathered the workers and patrons in front of the teller's windows and forced them to sit on the floor. Two others moved immediately to the vault where they apparently loaded the money into 2 bags they were carrying."

"It says here that two employees, Carter Sheraton and Carlton Grimes, were forced into the vault to help," said Lilly.

"That would make sense," said Nick. "The vault was apparently open but there's a cage just inside that is kept locked. They would have needed someone to open the cage to let them in. I guess Grimes being the president's personal secretary had the key. They probably also took Sheraton to help load the money so they could keep an eye out for any police that showed up."

"It also says that the bank president, Stephen Templeton, was out of the bank at the time. Apparently attending some kind of meeting."

"That's convenient. Out of the bank on the very day it gets robbed. Kind of makes you wonder if he knew something was going to happen."

"Nothing else very surprising. Forney and Richards entered the bank, demanded the gunmen surrender, and were subsequently shot. Along with Erin Miles, one of the bank robbers. It says here that they found the other robbers at Mile's house where they were killed resisting arrest."

"Not very smart of them. They should have known the police would be searching his home once they identified him."

"They had to identify him from fingerprints. Apparently he didn't have any form of identification on him, not even the tags in his clothes. But he had a rap sheet. One count of public indecency. Seems he was arrested a few years earlier for urinating on the side of a public building. I guess with the urgency of the bank robbery and the killing of policemen and civilians they rushed the identification from the fingerprints."

"Let's see," said Nick, looking over some more paperwork. "Jerome Stapleton, one of the other robbers, was a construction worker. John Harris worked at one of the warehouses in town. And William Harrington was an unemployed electrician. Hey, look at this."

He showed the paper to Lilly.

"Says here he volunteered regularly at a Catholic Church. I know the name of that church. Isn't that the one where the boss's brother works? The one who's a priest?"

"I think you're right," said Lilly. "I wonder if he could give us any information on Harrington?"

"Can't hurt to ask. It was 30 years ago. Not even sure he was there at the time."

"Hey, look what I found. Apparently there was a tourist out front of the bank when the robbers made their getaway. He snapped some pictures and it seems he got pictures of them."

"Not very good," said Nick, looking at the photographs. "Can't even really tell who they are, especially with those ski masks they're wearing. Looks like they're getting into an old Chevy. That's probably how they made their getaway."

"I guess they didn't see the tourist snapping the pictures. And the license plate on the car isn't clear. Can't make out any numbers or letters. But take a look at this one. What do you see?"

Nick looked at the picture for a minute.

"Looks like 3 guys wearing ski masks heading for the car. All of them carrying shotguns."

"Two of them are also carrying bags across their shoulders."

"Yeah, so? The reports say they loaded the money into bags they had brought with them."

"Look at the bags. What do they look like to you?"

"Well," said Nick, looking closer at the bags in the picture, "kind of looks like those bags guys use when they go to the gym."

"Exactly. But think about it. According to the list, the money that disappeared consisted of packets of money in 100 bill increments. Let's see. There were 4,000 packs of $1.00 bills, 4,000 packs of $5.00 bills, 2,000 packs of $10.00 bills, 1,000 packs of $20.00 bills, 4,000 packs of $50.00 bills, and 2,000 packs of $100.00 dollar bills. Apparently enough to replenish what the bank had used cashing checks and such."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well that makes a total of 17,000 packets of money, if my math is correct. Do those 2 bags they're carrying look large enough to be carrying 17,000 packets of money to you? Not to mention the weight. That much money must have weighed a couple of hundred pounds at least. Probably more. The report says it was brought into the bank on a pallet."

"Say, you're right. Those two bags probably couldn't carry more than a few thousand dollars at best. No way they got more than 10 million dollars in them."

"Plus the reports said the robbers went running out of the bank. I don't see how they could have been running anywhere with all that weight."

"Good point. So if the robbers didn't take the money out of the bank when they left, what happened to the money?"

"What if it didn't go out the front door with them? What if it went out the back door? Look at this." She handed a picture to Nick. The picture showed a door that was slightly ajar. "This is a picture of the back door to the bank. Look how it's open slightly. It's a security door so it should have been closed. If the robbers never went to the back of the bank someone else had to have opened it."

"You're right. There's no way the bank employees would have left that door open unless one or more of them was involved in the heist."

"Okay, so here's what might have happened. They load the money into larger bags or something making it easier to move. Then, during the robbery, they move the money out the back door. Maybe stick it in a dumpster or something or maybe in a car that's waiting. With the people in the bank huddled on the floor in front of the teller's windows they wouldn't be able to see what was going on. Then the robbers make their getaway out the front door."

"Leading everyone – even the police – to think they had gotten away with the money. No one would be looking at the back of the bank since the robbers never went to the back."

"Except for the hallway where Grimes was shot. But no one ever saw them go out the back door. Or even down the hallway. There would be no reason for anyone to suspect the money wasn't with the robbers as they made their getaway."

"So what happened to the money? Did the robbers come back for it later?"

"That would probably have been too dangerous. They must have known the police would be swarming all over the bank. If they came back there would be too great a risk of them getting caught."

"But their faces were covered in ski masks. No one could identify them."

"Would you take that risk? Eight people died in the bank, including 2 police officers. Would you risk going back there and having someone identify you?"

"No, I guess not. Which means someone else would have had to move the money. Someone the police wouldn't suspect."

"Like the inside man. Or better yet. A woman. The police were looking for 3 men. Who better to collect the money than a woman who wouldn't be suspected of being involved?"

"I don't know. That's an awful lot of weight for one person to move, especially a woman. And if the money had been put in bags small enough to be manageable it would take longer for them to move them."

"Unless they were all ready to be moved. They take the money out of the bank and put it in a van or the trunk of a car. The robbers are long gone before the money is even moved. Or it's moved out the back of the bank while everyone is concentrating on the robbers going out the front. And no one would suspect that the money was still there all the time. Just sitting in the trunk of a car."

"That makes sense," said Nick. "Except the only other person besides the bank robbers who weren't huddled in front of the teller's windows besides Grimes was Carter Sheraton. It says here that Sheraton was a junior employee at the bank. A loan officer. He was forced into the vault along with Grimes to help the robbers collect the money."

"And maybe sneak it out the back door. As well as killing Grimes who may have been nothing but an innocent bystander."

"And then what? He hangs around knowing that someone may connect him to the robbery and murders? Not to mention that he still works at the bank. He's the president, remember? Why continue to work there if he got away with 10 million bucks in cash?"

"I see what you mean. Okay, what about this? Besides the four gunmen in the bank, there are 1 or 2 others out back of the bank. They force Grimes to carry the money out the back door and load it in a waiting car. Then one of them kills Grimes to keep him from identifying them and they take off with the money. While the robbers are speeding away from the bank, everyone, including the police, is looking for them. While the others casually drive away with the money in the trunk of a car going in a different direction."

"That's good. And it would answer why Grimes was killed with a .22 and not a shotgun. The ones out back wouldn't need shotguns. But they might have been carrying a small pistol just in case."

"And a .22 is traditionally the type of pistol women like to carry. They're small and easy to conceal. And they don't have the recoil that a .38 or a .45 has."

"But a shot behind the left ear is just as deadly as any other gunshot. And if they were women it would make it easier for them to get away with it. No one was looking for any women that day."

"Which might also explain why the money was never recovered. When the three men were cornered and killed later that night, the women might have taken off with the money. As far as everyone was concerned they had the ones who pulled the job. All they would have to do is leave town with the money still in the trunk of their car."

"I'll see if I can find out if any of the robbers had wives or girlfriends and what happened to them. If any of them suddenly left town after the heist it would be a good indication they knew about the money. If they are still in the city I would imagine their spending habits would have changed with all that money at their disposal."

"I'll go let the boss know what we've discovered. Looks like we have some pretty good leads on this one. It also looks like those 4 weren't the only ones involved in the robbery."

Lilly and Nick but the boxes away and headed back to the squad room.


	3. Chapter 3

THREE

"There are a lot of ifs in that scenario, Lil," said Stillman when she had told him what they had found. "And not a whole lot of evidence to back it up."

"But it does answer a lot of questions," said Lilly. "Why Grimes was shot with a .22 and not a shotgun. Why the money was never recovered. How the robbers were able to get away with over 10 million dollars in cash when they clearly couldn't have carried it out with them. The only explanation is that someone was waiting out behind the bank and drove off with the money. And since the police were looking for male bank robbers it only makes sense that the others must have been women. No one would have given them a second look."

"It does make sense," said Will.

"It doesn't explain why the money has never surfaced," said Stillman. "The money was a delivery the bank had received only that morning. They had a complete list of the serial numbers for each bill. If someone has been living off that money how come not even a single dollar has ever turned up?"

"You know as well as I do that there were ways to launder money even in 1973," said Lilly. "Maybe one of the robbers knew someone who could launder it for them. Even if they only got a third of what the money was worth that's still over 3 million dollars they got away with scot free."

"And once the money was laundered there would be no way to trace it back to the robbers," said Will.

"Okay, so how do you propose we go about proving your theory?" Stillman asked.

"We talk to the people who are still around from then," said Lilly. "Nick's checking on any relatives the robbers might have had especially wives or girlfriends. We can also interview the people at the bank. Even after 30 years they might still remember something that could help us. We can also see if we can retrace the robber's steps after they robbed the bank. Several hours passed between the bank robbery and when they were killed. They had to be doing something in all that time."

"I'll have a talk with Andy," said Stillman. "He wasn't at the church in '73 but he can probably tell me which priest was. Maybe that priest knows something about Harrington that can help. Will, why don't you go with Lilly to interview the bank employees that are still at the bank? See if there's anything about that day they may have forgotten to tell the police or that they've remembered since then."

"Will do," said Will.

"I'll have Nick continue to get any information he can on the robber's relatives," continued Stillman. "We'll also check on employees who have left since then. Especially any who left suddenly or very soon afterwards. It's looking more and more like this was an inside job. If we can track down who the inside man was maybe we can find out what happened to the money."

"I noticed there were no tapes from the security cameras in the boxes," said Lilly. "Any idea what might have happened to them?"

"There probably weren't any," said Stillman. "In those days not all banks had security cameras. In fact a lot of them didn't. Security cameras weren't really in wide spread use until the late '80s or so. Even then it took a while for some banks to get them installed. Not like it is today where closed circuit television cameras can be found just about anywhere."

"Well I guess that means we can't see what actually happened that day," said Lilly. "We'll have to rely on the reports and whatever people can remember."

"Wasn't there a reward offered for the return of the money?" Will asked.

"Yes," said Stillman. "The bank put up a $250,000.00 reward for any information that led to its recovery. They had a lot of leads but nothing panned out."

"Unfortunately as police officers we're not eligible for the reward," said Lilly.

"No, we're not," said Stillman. "Still, it's our responsibility to recover it if we can. Nick and I will get started on those checks right away. You two go see what you can find out from the employees at the bank."

Will and Lilly left the lieutenant's office to head to the Mayfair branch of the First Trust Bank.

"What can I do for the Philadelphia police?" Carter Sheraton asked as Lilly and Will sat in his office.

Sheraton was exactly as Lilly had imagined he'd be. At nearly 60 years of age his hair was almost a silver color with just a few streaks of brown left in it. His hair and nails were immaculately trimmed and he was wearing a 3-piece suit which she imagined was because of his station. As the president of a major metropolitan bank he would need to present a certain air of dignity.

"We're reinvestigating the robbery here in 1973," said Lilly. "We understand you were here when it happened."

"Yes," said Sheraton, closing his eyes momentarily. "That was a horrible day. I had only been here a few months and when those men suddenly appeared in the lobby with their shotguns I was very nearly panic stricken."

"You were a loan officer then?" Will questioned.

"Yes. I had been working at a savings and loan and when Mr. Templeton – the bank president at the time – offered me a job here, I jumped at it. I've been here ever since. Worked my way up to being president. It's been a good tenure."

"We were wondering if you might be able to give us some information about that day," said Lilly.

"I don't understand. They caught the men who robbed it. One was killed right here in our lobby and the other three were killed later that night in a shootout with the police. I don't understand why you'd be reinvestigating it after all these years."

"The money was never recovered," said Lilly.

"No, it wasn't. The police told me they thought the robbers had hidden it somewhere and when they were killed no one knew where it was. Without any further leads there was nothing they could do so they closed the case on it."

"Technically the case was never closed," said Will. "Since the money was never recovered it's remained open but inactive. It also appears that the four gunmen may not have been the only ones involved."

"Really? So you're saying someone else might have gotten away with the money?"

"That's what we're looking into," said Lilly. "Can you tell us, who might have known about the delivery of the money that day?"

"Well, the bank employees, certainly. Banks get regular deliveries from the Federal Reserve to replenish what they give out in cashing checks, people closing their accounts, that sort of thing. All bank employees are aware of the delivery of money when it comes in. And the armored car company that delivered the money. They would have known about it although it's my understanding that the drivers don't know what their routes are going to be until they get them that morning."

"Anyone else?" Will asked.

"I would imagine the people at the Federal Reserve. Other than that I can't think of anyone who would have known about the deliveries."

"What happens when the money is delivered?" Lilly asked.

"Well, because of the large amounts it's usually delivered on a pallet. It's taken into the vault where 2 employees are required to count it and verify it. That can take some time especially with large amounts. Once the count is verified we contact the Federal Reserve and let them know that everything is in order. Then it's divided up to go to whatever departments need it. Most go to the tellers since they're the ones that handle the bulk of the money."

"You said 2 employees?" Lilly questioned.

"Yes. It's a safeguard against both dishonest employees and mistakes. Two employees are required to be with the money at all times until it's taken care of. And as bank president either I or the vice president verifies the entire procedure. We're also required to document the entire process because of federal regulations."

"Is that why you and Mr. Grimes were in the vault that day?" Will asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact it was. The process of counting and verifying the shipment is on a rotating basis. Two different employees do it each time. That's another safeguard we have. On that day Carlton and I were the ones tasked with it."

"Were you and Mr. Grimes good friends?" Lilly asked.

"I wouldn't say good friends. We got along okay. But I never saw him outside of work. We just happened to be the ones selected to do the procedure that day. Mr. Sherman, the bank's vice president at the time, was going to verify it. Mr. Templeton was at a meeting most of the day so he couldn't do it."

"So you were in the vault when the gunmen came in?" Will asked.

"Yes. As I said, when they appeared in the lobby there was no question what they were there for. I thought they'd just hit the tellers and rush out. Then they came into the vault and had us load the money into bags. They said if we gave them any trouble they wouldn't hesitate to shoot us and I for one believed them."

"What kind of bags did they have?" Lilly asked.

"Initially they had small bags they had slung over their shoulders. But inside those were those – oh, what do they call them? Duffle bags, I believe. The kind the military uses. They had two duffle bags each and they had us load the money into the bags. Then they filled the smaller bags with as much money as they could."

"What happened then?" Will asked.

"One of them had me lie on the floor facing the back of the vault. They had Carlton pick up the duffle bags and carry them out of the vault. I really didn't see where he went with them. As I said, they had told us if we didn't cooperate they'd shoot us and I had no doubt they would. The next thing I knew there was a lot of gunfire coming from the front of the bank. When it stopped I rushed out to see if anyone was hurt. That's when I saw all the bodies on the floor. It was the most horrible thing I've ever witnessed. The robbers were nowhere to be seen so I just figured they had gone out the front door."

"What about the other employees?" Lilly asked. "Was anyone acting strange or unusual that day? Maybe someone who might have been unusually nervous?"

"Not that I recall. You're not implying that a bank employee had anything to do with the robbery are you?"

"It's one possibility we're looking into," said Will. "You said yourself that all the employees were aware of the delivery. And the robbers headed straight for the vault, bypassing all of the teller's windows. Indicating they knew exactly what they were looking for."

"Then there's the matter of Mr. Grime's death," said Lilly. "He was shot with a .22 caliber pistol, not a shotgun. All of the gunmen were armed with shotguns that day. And the police reports didn't mention any other guns found when the gunmen were killed."

"That's very disconcerting. To think that one of the employees might actually have been involved in such a horrible thing. But I can't think of anyone who might have been involved."

"The gunmen were in the front of the bank," said Lilly. "Mr. Grimes was killed in the hallway that leads back here to your office. Is there any reason you can think of why the gunmen would come back here?"

"Absolutely none. We don't keep any money back here. All of the money is locked in the vault every night. The only thing back here are offices containing records and files; that sort of thing. There's nothing back here that robbers might want. Robbers typically rob a bank for only one reason: money. Files are not usually high on their lists."

"We know that," said Lilly, smiling. "We were just trying to figure out why they would have taken Mr. Grimes back here to kill him instead of killing him in the vault where he was at."

"I'm sure I can't answer that," said Sheraton. "All I know is they had him pick up the duffle bags full of money and move them out of the vault."

"And you have no idea where he was moving them to?" Lilly asked.

"No, I don't. Carlton and I filled the first one and they had him move it out of the vault while they had me begin filling the second one. As each one was filled they had him move it out while I started filling the next one. Once the last one was filled the forced me to lie down on the floor as I told you and then the shooting started. That's all I really know."

"And no one you can think of who was acting strange or unusual that day?" Will asked.

"Well, it was 30 years ago. As I'm sure you can imagine, it's not exactly something we like to remember. There are only 4 of us still here who were here on that day and it's not exactly a topic of conversation even after all these years."

"No doubt," said Will. "You said there were 3 others still here from then. Are they at work today?"

"Two of them are. Stella Grippen who's our head teller now. And there's Patrick Mulberry. He's head of the loan department now. The third person is Ginger Truman who is working in our accounting department. Ginger is on vacation right now and won't be back until next week."

"We'd like a chance to speak to them if we could," said Will. "To see if there's anything they can remember from that day."

"Certainly. I'll see that they make time to speak with you. You don't suspect any of them, do you?"

"Right now everyone and no one is a suspect," said Lilly. "It's possible our investigation won't yield any useful leads. As we said we're just reinterviewing the people who were there that day and see if anyone can tell us anything about that day. Even after so many years it's possible they still remember something that might help."

"Well, as I said, I'll make sure that Stella and Patrick make time to speak with you. I believe Ginger is visiting relatives in California but I'll see that you get her home address. I'm not sure when she's due back but she scheduled to return to work next Monday."

"The bank offered a reward for the return of the money, didn't they?" Lilly asked.

"Yes. $250,000.00 as I recall. Obviously the reward was never paid since the money was never recovered."

"Did they ever withdraw the reward offer?" Lilly asked.

"Not to my knowledge," said Sheraton. "Which I assume would mean that technically it's still available if someone should find or return the money. Thinking of subsidizing your police salary, detective?"

"As police officers we aren't eligible for any reward," said Lilly. "We just like to be thorough, that's all."

"Of course. I'll go see if Patrick and Stella are available to speak with you now."

"Would you mind if we had a look at the vault while you're doing that?" asked Will.

"Help yourself. If we can't trust Philly's finest who can we trust?"

Will and Lilly headed for the vault as Sheraton went to get the two employees.


	4. Chapter 4

FOUR

"Got that information we were looking for, boss," said Nick walking into Stillman's office carrying several sheets of paper. "Doesn't look like anything useful here. Erin Miles – the robber killed in the bank – lived alone and apparently wasn't close to anyone. Kind of a loner.

"Jerome Stapleton was married and his wife moved out west after the robbery. She worked as a teacher at a school in Phoenix until she died in 1994. Her spending habits didn't seem to change much after Stapleton died. And she didn't have very much money in the bank when she died."

"What about the other two?"

"John Harris had a live in girlfriend. She was a waitress at a local greasy spoon. She worked there for about 20 years and then married some guy. But their spending habits were completely in line with what they make. No lead there.

"The last guy – William Harrington. It seems he was engaged to be married. But he got killed before the wedding day. She moved back to Boston a few months after the robbery and eventually married a doctor. He filed bankruptcy in 1989 and again in 2001. If they had 10 million bucks to live on I doubt if he would have filed bankruptcy."

"Unless it was a cover," Stillman replied. "File bankruptcy and continue to live modestly off the money until they could afford to spend more. Ten million dollars would go a long ways even today. Especially if you're real careful about how you spend so that it doesn't appear you're living beyond your means."

"Maybe," said Nick, "but somehow I don't think that's the case here. There are no suspicious expenditures in their finances or in their banking transactions. I can't imagine anyone with 10 million dollars resisting an occasional indulgence."

"You might be right. I did find something interesting. Stephen Templeton, the bank president in 1973? It seems he's another cold case. Killed during a home invasion about 8 months after the robbery. The doer was never caught?"

"You think he might have been the inside man? He was absent from the bank that day. It just seems odd to me that he would be out of the bank on the very day it gets robbed."

"If he was the inside man then who killed him? And why? And I checked on his meeting that day. Seems it was legitimate. It had been scheduled for nearly 2 months before the robbery. And with that kind of money on the line I can't see how he'd want to risk the others getting away with it. Besides, there doesn't seem to be any connection between him and the robbers."

"It was just a thought," said Nick. "It just seems strange that he would be murdered so soon after the robbery."

"Unless there was more than one inside man," said Stillman. "What if there were 2 inside men? And Templeton was the second inside man? The other one might have thought he knew where the money was and tried to get him to talk. Sometime during the 'interrogation' Templeton dies. Or he decides to keep all the money for himself and kills Templeton so he doesn't have to split it."

"That sounds reasonable. But like you said, who was the intruder? And did he – or she – find the money? How was he killed?"

"That's the interesting part. Shot behind the left ear with a .22 caliber bullet."

"The same caliber that killed Grimes."

"Check the box," said Stillman. "Check the ballistics against the slug that killed Grimes. I'm willing to bet you'll find a match."

"I won't take that bet," said Nick, smiling at the lieutenant. He left the office and headed for the archives room. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go see my brother. See if he can give me some information on Harrison or at least steer me to someone who can."

"Okay. I'll let you know what I find out."

"So, what brings you here today?" asked Andrew Stillman as the lieutenant walked into the church.

The sanctuary of the church was in complete disarray. Large tarps covered nearly all of the pews and there was obviously some type of construction going on. One of the walls was only partially painted and two men dressed as painters were busily painting the rest of the wall. Two of the other walls showed signs of having been recently painted.

"What happened here?" asked John surveying the scene. "Looks like a tornado hit this place."

"Just some refurbishing," replied his brother. "A parishioner passed away recently and left a rather sizeable donation to the church in her will. With the proviso that the entire amount be used to fix the place up. She spent most of her life here and she often commented that it was starting to look rundown. Can't say she was wrong in that respect."

"Well, looks like you're putting the money to good use."

"Complying with her wishes just as she asked. We're even getting a new altar. Another parishioner is a carpenter and he's built a new one for us. We'll be replacing the old one in a couple of days. You should come by for the dedication. You don't come here nearly as often as you should."

"I'll try," John promised, knowing full well that was one promise he would probably never keep. "I'm actually here on business today."

"Oh? What sort of police business could you possibly have in a church?"

"Remember the big bank robbery in '73?"

"Sure I do. It was in all the papers. And on the news. I thought they caught the guys who did that?"

"We're looking into it again. It seems there may have been more than just the four that were initially identified."

"Really? Well I'm not sure how I can help. The bank is a long way from here."

"One of the robbers – William Harrington – did volunteer work here. I was wondering if you knew who was here at that time? He might be able to give us some insight into Harrington. As you know the money from that robbery was never recovered. The priest who was here at the time might be able to help us find where it was hidden."

"'73, let me think. That would have been Father Paul O'Rourke. He was here until '91 when he retired. Unfortunately he died in '98. He was kind of a mentor of mine when I was first ordained. I was one of the pallbearers at his funeral."

"Oh. Well, it was a long shot. Just thought I'd ask."

"You know who you might talk with? Elise Mitchell. She was Paul's secretary back them. She's retired, too, but she's still alive and kicking. I have her address in my office. Maybe she could tell you what you need to know."

"It's worth a try. Anything would be helpful."

"I'll get her address. I'll also give her a call and see if she can stop by and see you today. Since she retired she doesn't get out much and I'm sure she'd love a chance to go by the police station. Oh, be careful where you step. There's fresh paint everywhere."

"I will," said John as Andrew headed for his office.

John looked around the room and thought how the fresh paint seemed to brighten the room considerably. But being in church made him uncomfortable. The sooner he was out of there the sooner he could get back to his job.

"Get anything useful?" Stillman asked when Lilly and Will returned to the police station.

"Not much," replied Lilly. "Just about the same thing that was in the reports and case files. Carter Sheraton basically told us the same thing that the news report said. Nothing much different."

"We also interviewed Patrick Mulberry and Stella Grippen," said Will. "Mulberry basically told us the same thing Sheraton did. The gunmen came into the bank, went straight to the vault, loaded the money into the bags, and shot their way out. He couldn't remember much more than that."

"What about Grippen?" asked Stillman.

"She was even less helpful," said Lilly. "It seems she was one of the people wounded that day. She spent several weeks in the hospital and apparently blocked most of it out of her memory. She was very nervous when we were talking to her so we didn't press her."

"I found something interesting," said Nick. "While you were out the boss discovered that Stephen Templeton – the bank president when the bank was robbed – was killed in an apparent home invasion about 7 months after the robbery. Shot behind the left ear with a .22 caliber gun."

"The same type of gun that killed Carlton Grimes," Lilly observed. "And shot in the same manner. Any connection between the bank robbery and the murder?"

"Oh, I'd say so," said Nick, pulling a piece of paper out of a folder he was holding. "According to the two ballistics reports, both slugs had identical grooves and riflings on them."

"Which means the same gun that killed Grimes also killed Templeton," said Stillman. "Which means it was probably the same shooter."

"It looks like there were 2 inside men at the bank," said Lilly. "Templeton and whoever killed him. The question is, who killed Templeton? It couldn't have been the 4 bank robbers that were identified. They all died that day. And since all of the bank employees knew about the money shipment, it could have been any one of them."

"Well, only 3 employees left the bank soon after the robbery," said Nick. "Parker Spencer was an accountant. But he was picked up by the feds for income tax evasion and spent the next 27 months in a federal prison. There was also a Gregory Harriman who retired 2 months later but according to the paperwork he was scheduled to retire at that time. And there's no indication either of them had any large sums of money."

"Who was the third person?" Stillman asked.

"Patricia Hargrove," said Nick. "About 3 weeks after the robbery she quit saying her sister was sick and she needed to go to Minneapolis to help care for her. Only I can't find any record she ever went to Minnesota or anywhere else. She just seems to have disappeared."

"And our theory was that the person or persons behind the bank that day were female," said Lilly. "Which means she could have gotten away will all the money since the bank robbers were all dead."

"So why kill Templeton if she got away with the money?" Will asked. "And why wait 7 months to do it? If she got away with the money and disappeared, why bother to come back to Philly to kill the last partner in the scheme?"

"Maybe Templeton tracked her down," offered Lilly. "He contacts her and tells her he wants his share of the money or he goes to the cops. So she comes back making him think she's bringing his money and kills him instead. As far as anyone knew she wasn't even involved so she got away clean with all the money. Now her partner threatens to blow the whistle on her so she has no choice but to take him out since she doesn't want to split the money."

"But if he goes to the cops he also implicates himself," said Will. "That would have been an almost instant death sentence, especially since 2 of those killed were police officers. Why risk a conviction for murder even for 5 million dollars? It wouldn't have done either of them any good sitting on death row."

"Maybe it was a bluff," said Nick. "Maybe he thought he could scare her into giving him his share of the money and it backfired on him."

"What about a connection between Templeton and Hargrove?" Stillman asked. "Any connection other than they worked at the bank together?"

"Haven't found any yet," said Nick. "But I did find something else of interest. Remember I told you that Erin Miles was a loner and didn't have any close friends? Well it seems he paid a couple of parking tickets for an Emily Sturgeon about 8 months before the robbery. He paid by check."

"Who is this Emily Sturgeon?" Will asked.

"Mile's next door neighbor," said Nick. "She lived in the house next to the one where Stapleton, Harris, and Harrington were killed. She must have been a very good neighbor for Miles to pay 2 parking tickets for her. Especially since he apparently had been out of work for about 3 months when he paid them."

"Any leads on where Sturgeon is now?" Stillman asked.

"Actually, there is. According to city records she bought a house here in Philly almost a year after the robbery. Paid nearly $80,000.00 dollars for it and paid in cash. And I can't find any employment records on her after that time. That's a pretty hefty sum for someone who before that was working for minimum wage at a cosmetics counter in a department store."

"That's our best lead yet," said Lilly. "What was minimum wage in 1973?"

"About a dollar sixty an hour," said Will. "That would be about $3,300.00 a year before taxes. No way anyone making that kind of money can afford a house worth eighty grand."

"Thirty three hundred a year?" Lilly questioned. "How could anyone live on that?"

"Well, prices were a lot lower then," said Stillman. "Average cost for a new house back then was about thirty or forty grand. A gallon of gas was less than 40 cents and you could buy a fairly decent new car for about $3,000.00. Still, working for minimum wage, even including whatever tips she might have received, makes you wonder how she could afford a house worth twice the market rate."

"Not to mention the fact she apparently didn't work after she bought the house," said Will. "If she had there would have been at least some tax records. According to Nick there aren't any."

"I have the address right here," said Nick. "And I already checked. There's no record of the house being sold or transferred to anyone else and there's no death certificate on record for Emily Sturgeon which means she apparently is still alive and still living at that address."

"Good work, Nick," said Stillman. "You and Lilly check out Ms. Sturgeon. See if she has some explanation for where she got all that money. My brother got hold of an Elise Mitchell, the secretary to the priest who was at the church in 1973. She's supposed to come by in about half an hour so we can see if she can tell us anything about Harrington. While you two are questioning Sturgeon we'll see if she knows anything that can help us with Harrington."

"Be back later, boss," said Lilly.

She and Nick left the police station to head for Emily Sturgeon's house.


	5. Chapter 5

FIVE

"Nice house," said Lilly as she and Nick walked up to the front door.

It was a fairly large house in an upscale part of town. Two and a half stories it obviously had several bedrooms and probably more than one bath. The large yard was immaculate trimmed and a man was busily trimming the bushes in the front yard.

"Well, it was worth $80,000.00 back in '73," Nick commented. "According to what I found out today its estimated value is nearly three quarters of a million dollars."

"And you said when she bought it she was working for minimum wage?"

"That's what the records say."

A man answered the front door and then showed them into a study. He said that Miss Sturgeon would be with them shortly. When the woman entered the study several minutes later Lilly noticed that she was in her mid-50s and elegantly dressed. She wore what were obviously very expensive diamond rings on both hands, including what was unmistakably a wedding band and engagement ring on her left hand.

"Marcus said you were with the police," said the woman, offering them a seat in the room. "What can I do for you, officers?"

"Detectives," said Lilly. "I'm Detective Rush and this is Detective Vera. We'd like to ask you a few questions about a former neighbor of yours. Erin Miles."

"Yes, I remember Erin. He was a very good friend. I'm sure you're aware he was killed attempting to rob a bank back in 1973. I was very surprised when I heard about it. I would never have expected him to do something like that."

"That's what we're here about," said Nick. "According to our records he paid some tickets for you about 8 months before he died."

"That's right. I was working at a department store in those days. I'm afraid I wasn't able to pay the tickets myself. They were parking tickets. When Erin found out about them he insisted on paying them. I was hardly in a position to say no."

"Well apparently he had been out of work for about 3 months when he paid them," said Lilly. "It just seems odd that he would pay someone else's tickets when he had no income."

"Yes, well that's the way Erin was. He had more than a friendly interest in me and I suppose he insisted on paying them to impress me. I never encouraged him. I wasn't interested in him in that way."

"I see," said Nick. "You have a very nice house here."

"Yes, I'm quite pleased with it. I've spent the last thirty years living here. I suppose I'll die here. It's more than comfortable and it has many memories for me."

"You bought the house about a year after Miles died," said Lilly. "The records show you paid $80,000.00 for it in 1973."

"And you're wondering how a lowly clerk at a cosmetics counter working for minimum wage could afford such an expensive house?"

Lilly glanced at Nick involuntarily. Sturgeon just smiled at them.

"It wasn't hard to guess why you're inquiring about Erin. I know the money from the robbery was never recovered. I lived next door to Erin and inexplicably I'm able to afford such an expensive house. So you're thinking that maybe I had the money Erin and his friends stole and I've been living off it for all these years."

"Well," said Lilly uncomfortably, "we are investigating the robbery. As you said, the money was never recovered and someone working for minimum wage in 1973 could never have afforded a house like this."

"So you'd like me to explain where I got the money for the house. And how I've been able to live so comfortably all these years with no apparent source of income."

"Frankly, yes," said Nick matter-of-factly.

Lilly was uncomfortable. She hadn't meant to be so blunt about the matter. There was no indication this woman had the money or was even involved in the robbery. Still, they had come to find the answers to those very questions. Sturgeon walked over and picked up a picture from a table. She handed the picture to Lilly and Nick. The picture showed a very young Sturgeon standing next to a much older man. The styles of clothes they wore indicated the picture had been take in the early or middle '70s.

"That's how I can afford all this," said Sturgeon. "That was my husband, Stephen Levinson. We were married in January 1974. Unfortunately he passed away in August of that year. Prostate cancer. He wasn't even aware of it when we got married. After he died I inherited his entire estate. It was quite considerable. So I used some of the money to buy this house. He had quite an extensive portfolio of stocks and bonds and they've proved me with a very comfortable income ever since."

"Excuse me," said Nick, "but there's no record of your ever being married. And your name is Sturgeon, not Levinson."

"I kept my maiden name after we were married. I was an only child and I kept the name. Stephen understood completely. That way my family name could be carried on by our children. As for no record of being married, that's quite easy to explain. We eloped. We were married in one of those garish little chapels in Las Vegas. I'm sure you know the kind. I'm sure you'll find the marriage license on record there."

"You didn't have a formal ceremony when you came back to Philly?" Lilly asked.

"Stephen and I never saw much sense in it. Neither of us had any family to speak of. Most of his friends were business acquaintances. We both just saw a big church ceremony as a waste of money and time."

"So you don't know anything about the money from the robbery?" Lilly asked.

"All I can tell you is that Erin told me a few weeks before the robbery that he was going to come into a great deal of money. I thought he was just talking to impress me. Then when I heard about the robbery and that he was involved I knew what he had meant. But I never saw him that day. And as I'm sure you know he was killed in the bank. I have no idea what happened to that money."

"We'll have to check out your story," said Nick. "Eleven people were killed that day including 2 police officers. And more than 10 million dollars is still missing. And there are indications that someone was involved in the robbery that wasn't identified in 1973."

"Oh, I quite understand that," said Sturgeon as she walked over and opened a draw on the desk in the room. She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Nick. "This is our copy of the marriage license we received when we were married in Vegas. As you can see it's dated January 9, 1973. I also have a copy of Stephen's death certificate around here somewhere. If you like I could get that for you as well."

"That won't be necessary," said Lilly, looking at the marriage license. "You seem to have been truthful with us. I'm sure we'll find everything exactly as you've explained it. Tell me. Did Miles ever mention any of the other men involved in the robbery? Jerome Stapleton, John Harris, or William Harrington?"

"Not that I recall. As I said, I never encouraged his advances. Oh, he was never inappropriate or anything. But I knew what he was interested in. So I made sure I was always busy whenever he wanted to talk. I'm afraid I never knew much about his friends. Except one. Let me see. What was his name? Oh, yes, I remember. Grimes. Carlton Grimes."

"Miles knew Grimes?" Nick asked.

"Yes. I always thought it strange because Grimes was always dressed in a suit and I don't think Erin even owned a suit. And it was obvious that Grimes was educated. I always thought it was a bit odd that the two were friends. They seemed to have very little in common."

"How well did Miles know Grimes?" Lilly asked.

"I don't know. I met him for the first time about six months before Erin died. He came over several times during that time. Sometimes he'd come over with another man. I never did learn who the other man was. But he was dressed like Grimes. Always wearing a suit."

"What did this other man look like?" Nick asked.

"About 30 I guess. Brown hair. I'm afraid I don't remember much more than that. I only saw him a couple of times."

"Thank you Mrs. Sturgeon. You've been very helpful."

"Brown hair wearing a suit," said Nick as he and Lilly walked to the car. "Not much to go on. That description could fit a thousand different men back in '73."

"But we now know that Grimes was involved with the robbery," said Lilly. "I'm willing to bet the other man that Sturgeon mentioned was the accomplice that wasn't identified in 1973. Another one of the bank employees."

"That makes sense. We need to see if we can find out how many of the male bank employees had brown hair in 1973. I guess we'll need to go back through the employee records for the bank and see if there's anything we missed the first time around. Maybe this missing accomplice was smarter than we thought. He might have waited quite a while before he quit the bank so it wouldn't look suspicious."

"And a bank employee would know how to launder the money. Which would also explain why it was never recovered. Let's get back to the station. We need to let the boss know what we've found out."

"Thank you for coming by, Mrs. Mitchell," said Stillman as the woman sat in his office. "We appreciate the assistance."

"Father Stillman said you wanted to know about Father O'Rourke," said the woman, with a thick Irish brogue. She was well over 80 and walked very slowly had to use a cane. "He said you were his brother?"

"That's right," said Stillman. "Actually, we were more interested in someone who used to volunteer at the church. A man named William Harrington."

"I remember him," said Mitchell. "He was a very nice boy. Always working around the church and wouldn't take any payment for him. Terrible what happened to him."

"That's why we wanted to talk to you," said Will. "We're looking into the robbery in 1973. We were hoping you might be able to tell us something about Harrington."

"I never actually knew that much about him. Only a few things he mentioned while he was working around the church. He volunteered a few days a month as I recall."

"So we understand," said Stillman. "What can you tell us Mr. Harrington?"

"Well, as I said, he would volunteer around the church. Mostly he did some electrical work. I think he was an electrician. He helped rewire a lot of the church. It's an old church and it was badly in need of repair. But he did a really good job. Of course that was 30 years ago. It's in need of repair again, I'm afraid."

"They're fixing it up right now," said Stillman. "Andy told me a parishioner died recently and left quite a bit of money to the church with the provision that it be used to fix it up."

"Yes, Matilda Collins. I knew more than 40 years. She told me she was going to leave her money to the church. I'm glad to hear they're finally fixing it up."

"What else did he do at the church?" Will asked. "Besides the electrical work he would do some carpentry work. He seemed to be pretty good at that. He repaired the altar when some vandals broke into the church and did a lot of damage. He also repaired the vandalized pews. And, as I recall, he did a fair amount of painting as well."

"What about friends?" Stillman asked. "Do you know any friends he might have had?"

"Well, none specifically. He had a couple of young men that helped him with the work in the church. Just a couple of other men who attended the church. Oh, he also had a friend that visited him there a couple of times. I don't know who that man was. They were about the same age but the other man was usually wearing a suit."

"Anything you can remember about this man?" Will asked.

"Not really. He only came by a couple of times. He looked like any number of young men who attended the church on Sunday's. But I do remember that whenever he came by they'd go off by themselves to talk. I just assumed he was probably family or something. Harrington never really talked about him."

"You have a good memory, Mrs. Mitchell," said Will. "Not many people can remember so much from 30 years ago."

"I've always had a good memory. The old bones aren't what they used to be, I'm afraid, but there's nothing wrong with my memory."

"Well, thank you for telling us what you remember," said Stillman. "Andy says they're putting in a new altar in a couple of days. I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you were at the dedication. You did spend a great many years there. And I'm sure you'd like to see how they're fixing the place up."

"Thank you, lieutenant," said Mitchell as Stillman walked her to the door. "I think I'd like that. It would be nice to see the church all spruced up again."

"Can I call you a cab or something?" Stillman asked.

"No, that's all right. My grandson is meeting me downstairs in a bit. He's going to give me a ride home. Oh, Carter. That was the young man's name that visited Harrington. I heard him say goodbye to the man once and he called him Carter."

"Carter?" questioned Stillman. "You're sure he said Carter?"

"Yes, that was the name, Carter. I don't know if that was a first or last name though."

"Thanks again, Mrs. Mitchell. You've been a lot of help."

As Elise Mitchell left the station Stillman went back to his office to confer with Will.


	6. Chapter 6

SIX

"So Miles and Grimes knew each other," said Stillman that afternoon after Lilly and Nick had returned to the station. "And Mrs. Mitchell intimated that Carter Sheraton and William Harrington knew each other."

"So if Grimes and Sheraton knew the bank robbers that explains a lot of things. How the robbers knew the money would be in the bank. Why the two of them were 'forced' to load the money into the bags. How they were able to get into the bank and get the money out of the bank so fast. I remember the employee parking lot was behind the bank. They probably loaded the money into Sheraton's car after they filled the bags."

"If that's true then what happened to the money?" Lilly asked. "If the money was in Sheraton's car where did it go? There's been no unusual activity with his bank accounts in the past 30 years. And why did he stick around if he had more than 10 million dollars from the robbery?"

"Good questions," said Will. "It also brings up the question of who killed Templeton, the former bank president. Presumably Sheraton killed Grimes during the robbery. Which means he must have killed Templeton as well. But as far as we know Sheraton didn't own a gun back in '73."

"But we never checked," said Will. "But why kill Grimes in the first place? He was helping with the robbery. Why kill one of your own partners?"

"To make the split bigger," suggested Lilly. "The six of them were going to split the money. If there were only five of them the split would be larger."

"It would also be larger if there were fewer partners," said Nick. "If Sheraton killed Grimes I think we can assume he planned to kill more of his partners. Maybe all of them. No one suspected either of them. So maybe Sheraton decided to get rid of his partners after the robbery. Only the police beat him to it."

"Lilly," said Stillman, "run a check and see if Sheraton owned a gun back in '73. Then let's get him back in here for some more questions. Mr. Sheraton has a lot of answers to give us."

Lilly just nodded as she got up and headed down to the records department to run a check on Carter Sheraton.

"I'm Lieutenant Stillman," said Stillman the next day after Sheraton had come into the station. "We asked you to come in today, Mr. Sheraton, so that we could clear up a few things."

"Yes," said Sheraton, "Detective Rush said you had a lead on the other person involved in the robbery that day. What can I do for you, lieutenant?"

"You can start by explaining about your relationship with William Harrington," said Lilly. "One of the men who robbed your bank back in '73. Our information is that you and he knew each other."

"I'm afraid you've been misinformed," said Sheraton. "I didn't know any of the men who robbed the bank that day."

"That's not what our information is," said Stillman. "Elise Mitchell, the secretary to the priest at the church where you visited him, identified you as the man that came by to see him."

"She must have me mistaken with someone else. She is quite old. I'm sure her mind is playing tricks on her."

"How did you know she was old?" Lilly asked. "We never mentioned how old she was."

"It was thirty years ago. It just stands to reason she'd be quite old by now."

"Not necessarily," said Stillman. "If she was 20 years old she'd only be 50 today. You and I both know that 50 isn't that old."

"I just suppose I assumed," said Sheraton. "Most of the secretaries of the priests I've known were at least middle age."

"Then how do you explain this?" Lilly asked, laying a piece of paper in front of Sheraton. "This is a report saying that you owned a gun in 1973. A Smith and Wesson .22 caliber pistol. The same type of gun that killed Grimes."

"You don't honestly think I killed Grimes, do you? I told you, I was in the vault when Grimes was killed. I didn't know where they were taking the money. I just assumed it went out the front door with the robbers when they left."

"About that," said Lilly. "When we interviewed you the other day, first you said the robbers had you lie on the floor facing the back of the vault while they had Grimes haul the money out. Then you said that he hauled the money out while you were loading the other bags. It seems your story keeps changing."

"It was 30 years ago, detective. Many of the details are a bit fuzzy; as I'm sure you can understand. It just took me a moment to remember exactly what happened. I'm sure I'm not the first witness to misremember something."

"No, you aren't," said Stillman. "What happened to the gun you used to own?"

"I have no idea. I only got it for protection. I suppose it's packed away somewhere. Or I might have lost it. I really can't say. I haven't seen that gun in 30 years. After I got it I realized I didn't really need it. So I put it in a box and stored it somewhere. I really can't recall where."

"That's convenient," said Lilly. "You see, the thing is, we've gone over all the police reports and the statements by all the witnesses in the bank that day. Including yours. They all say the same thing. The robbers exited the vault with the bags they were carrying and then the shooting started."

"So? That's what happened. I told you as much myself."

"And as far as you know only you and Grimes were behind the teller's counter at the time?" questioned Lilly. "You didn't see anyone else back there?"

"I really couldn't say," said Sheraton. "I told you: they made me lie on the floor facing the back of the vault. I didn't come out until the shooting started."

"And you didn't see anyone else behind the counter when you came running out of the vault?" asked Lilly.

"No one. I was concerned about the employees and the patrons. Just as I told you the other day."

"That's interesting," said Lilly. "Because Grime's body was in full view of the vault. You couldn't help but notice him lying on the floor. Or see who shot him. It couldn't have been the robbers. They were all out front of the counter exchanging fire with the two policemen who had come into the bank. Which means they couldn't have shot Grimes. It had to be someone else. Someone who was behind the counter. And by your own statement, you and Grimes were the only ones behind the counter at the time."

"I suppose I hesitated a few moments before coming out of the vault. There was a lot of gunfire going on. I certainly didn't want to get shot. I suppose whoever shot poor Grimes was all ready gone by then."

"And you still maintain that you didn't know any of the bank robbers?" Lilly asked. "That you had never seen any of them before?"

"I told you that. I told the police the same thing in 1973 and that hasn't changed."

"That's interesting," said Lilly. She pulled a book out of a small bag she had on the floor next to her. She laid the book on the table. Sheraton looked at the book and became nervous. Very nervous. "Because we found out something very interesting when we ran a check on you. You graduated from Central High School in 1962. The same year that Carlton Grimes graduated from the same school. And only two years before William Harrington graduated."

"I don't see how that has any bearing," said Sheraton, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. "A lot of students went to that high school. You certainly can't expect me to know everyone one of them."

"Of course not," said Lilly. "But I know you recognize this book. It's a high school yearbook. It makes for very interesting reading. Especially the part about the basketball teams. You played basketball in high school, didn't you?"

"I suppose. Lots of boys did back them."

"I know," said Lilly. "So did Harrington. And there's another interesting thing. You and Harrington were both on the Varsity team that year. Strange that neither of you would meet considering that Central High School really wasn't that big in 1962."

"Actually that's a misprint. I remember now. Harrington was at the same school I was at. But he was never on the basketball team. He tried out for it but he didn't make the cut. If you'll check you'll also see that I was listed as being in the chess club. I was never actually in the club. I played one game but decided not to join. So that's not the only misprint in that particular book."

"Another interesting thing," said Stillman, laying a piece of paper in front of Sheraton. "We did a little more checking. It seems that the weeks leading up to the robbery you spent a great deal of time on the phone. To two specific numbers. One belonged to William Harrington. The other one belonged to Carlton Grimes. Care to explain that?"

"It's obviously a mistake. As I said, I never knew either of them. Not before I went to work at the bank."

"There's no mistake," said Stillman. "We double-checked it. The phone calls were made from your extension at the bank and correspond exactly with the times when you were working. Banks keep very precise records. Do you honestly expect us to believe that someone else made all these calls from your phone while you were working there and you didn't know about it?"

"I suppose it's possible. I was very busy in those days. As you know I had only recently taken the job there. I was doing everything I could to impress Mr. Templeton. I spent a great deal of time away from my desk on a variety of matters. I suppose it's perfectly conceivable that someone else used my phone so it couldn't be traced back to them."

"You have an answer for everything," said Lilly.

"Which you find suspicious," said Sheraton. "And if I couldn't answer all of your questions you'd find that suspicious as well. So I really can't win here, can I? I think I've indulged you enough. You obviously are trying to pin the robbery on me and I've all ready told you I had nothing to do with it. I think we're finished here. If you have any more questions you can direct them to my attorney. I'm done answering any questions you have."

"That's okay," said Lilly. "We really don't need to ask you anymore questions. We have enough to charge you with being an accomplice in the bank robbery, conspiracy, and the deaths of those 11 people. Not to mention the death of Stephen Templeton 8 months later. Twelve people in all. That almost guarantees a needle in your arm."

"All you have is circumstantial. I've all ready provided you with an answer for all of your questions. And I'm sure my lawyer will be able to answer any other questions you might have. I doubt this will ever see the inside of a court. As for Templeton, you don't even have circumstantial evidence for that. Just because he was killed with the same gun that killed Grimes doesn't prove I did it. You can't tie the gun to me."

"Who said anything about Templeton being killed with the same gun?" Lilly questioned.

"Why, you did. The other day when you came to my office."

"No, I didn't mention Templeton's death then. In fact, I didn't even know he had been murdered until Lieutenant Stillman told me about it later. After I had talked with you. I couldn't have mentioned it then."

"I must have read about it in the paper," said Sheraton, standing up to leave the room. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have a bank to run."

"Sit down," said Stillman, moving to block the door. "You aren't going anywhere. Your statement about Templeton's death changes the whole complexion of this interrogation."

"I told you," said Sheraton, "if you have any more questions you can direct them to my attorney."

"Oh, we will," said Lilly, glancing up at Stillman. "We'll call him and have him come right over. In the mean time we're booking you on first degree murder for the death of Stephen Templeton."

"On what evidence?" Sheraton demanded. "I told you. I read about his murder in the paper. That's all. It doesn't prove a thing."

"How did you know the same gun was used to kill Grimes and Templeton?" Stillman asked.

"I told you. I read it in the paper."

"You couldn't have," said Lilly. "The newspaper account simply said that he had been shot to death during an apparent home invasion. It never even mentioned what type of gun it was, let alone that it was the same gun."

"It must have been a follow up story. That's it. A second piece. Templeton's murder was never solved so I guess they printed a second story hoping to get information on it. It was in there."

"That's not possible," said Lilly. "You see, Mr. Sheraton, Mr. Templeton's murder and Grime's murder weren't even connected until just a little while ago. The lieutenant discovered that Templeton had been murdered 8 months after the robbery and did some checking. The ballistics reports on the guns used to kill the two men weren't even compared until then. Not even we knew they were a match until we compared the reports. Which means the only possible way you had of knowing the same gun was used was if you had shot both men."

"That's ridiculous," said Sheraton, getting more nervous. "You're making that up. I know how you people work. You'll say anything. Make up any kinds of lies. That's all you're doing here."

"Afraid not," said Lilly. "The evidence on Templeton's murder has been sitting in our archives room for the past 30 years. And no one has gone near it until we checked it a couple of days ago. Our records can prove that. And as we said, no one knew of the match until then. Only the man who shot them could have known the same gun was used. We haven't released any information on this case yet. There's no other way you could have known it was the same gun."

"Which means that Templeton's death was premeditated," said Stillman. "Even in 1973 that was a death penalty crime. Since the same gun was used that proves you also killed Grimes. Execution style. Which also implies premeditation. Not to mention the other 10 people who died during the commission of a felony. Including 2 police officers. Anyway you cut it, Sheraton, you're on death row. The best lawyer in town won't be able to spin this one."

"You've got it all wrong," Sheraton pleaded nearly in a panic. "It wasn't premeditated. It was an accident. I didn't mean to . . . ."

Suddenly he realized what he had said. He simply looked at the two police officers knowing that no matter what he said now the story was going to come out.

"Templeton was shot behind the left ear," said Lilly. "Execution style. Are you trying to tell us that you accidentally shot him? That's a little hard to swallow."

"It was an accident," Sheraton said dejectedly. "I had gone over to talk to him. But he just wouldn't listen. He said he was going to the police with what he knew and that I was going to go to prison for the robbery and the murders. I only took the gun to scare him. I never meant to use it.

"But he didn't scare. He said I didn't have the guts to use the gun. I told him if he didn't keep his mouth shut I'd kill him. Then he grabbed for the gun. During the scuffle the gun went off accidentally. He fell to the floor dead. That's the honest to God's truth. I swear it. I never meant to use the gun. It was an accident."

"What was he going to go to the police about?" Stillman asked.

"He said he knew I was involved in the robbery. He had become suspicious after the robbery and done some checking. He found out the same things you did. That Grimes and I went to school together. And it made him suspicious when Grimes suggested hiring me."

"Harrington suggested hiring you?" asked Lilly.

"Yeah. He's the one who came up with the idea of robbing the bank. He had worked there for a while and noticed some flaws in their security system. He had it all worked out. But he needed a second man on the inside. So that we could get the money loaded and out of the bank as fast as possible. When he approached me with the idea I figured it was an easy way to get rich. And no one would be the wiser."

"But one of the tellers set off the silent alarm," said Stillman.

"Yeah. We hadn't figured on that. By the time we realized what had happened it was too late. The shooting had started and everything was going to hell real fast. I had to think fast. I knew if they pressed Grimes hard enough he'd break. Then we'd all wind up in prison. I just didn't know what else to do."

"Here," said Lilly, passing a pad and pen to Sheraton. "Write down exactly what happened. After we read it we'll contact the District Attorney and see what we can do. Don't leave out anything. And make sure it's all the truth."

Sheraton picked up the pen and began to write.


	7. Chapter 7

SEVEN

November 1, 1973, 2:04 p.m.

Carlton Grimes picked up the last duffle bag of money and headed out the back of the bank with it to the waiting car outside. As he did Jerome Stapleton and John Harris began to stuff money into the two gym bags they had carried into the bank. Harris looked at his watch.

"Okay, you know the rest of the plan," Harris said to Sheraton. "You and Grimes lie face down in the vault facing the back of the vault. Once we've left, call the police and report the robbery. Tell them we headed south on Frankford. We'll take Frankford to Cottman and head north to E. Roosevelt and then to Rhawn.

"Harrington will pick up the second car and double back to the bank. He'll leave the second car in the parking lot and take your car with the money in it. The second car is a near duplicate of yours so no one will be the wiser. Once he's hidden the money we'll split up so no one can connect us to the robbery."

"You sure he has a good hiding place for it?" Sheraton asked. "We'll have to wait at least a year before we can split it up. And it will have to be laundered otherwise they'll pick us up the first time we spend even a dollar of it."

"He says he has the perfect location," said Harris. "Don't worry. We've thought of everything. Once it's safe we can use your contact to launder the money and then we can all disappear quietly as rich men. Remember: no contact for at least 3 months. Any sooner than that and the cops might get suspicious."

"Don't worry," said Sheraton. "For 1.7 million dollars I can wait a few months. Just remember. Until we launder the money no one can spend any of it. The Federal Reserve and the bank have a complete list of the serial numbers of each bill. No one get greedy."

"Don't worry," said Stapleton, patting the bag he was holding. "I figure we got 5 or 6 grand in these two bags. With no way to trace this money. This will hold us until you can trade the rest for clean money."

"Okay, go on," said Sheraton, "get out of here. The cops could show up any minute." He smiled slightly. "I guess we'll see you in a few months."

Harris just smiled and then he and Stapleton turned and headed out of the vault. Sheraton moved to the offices and looked out the back door. Grimes was just closing the trunk of Sheraton's car and headed back into the bank. Sheraton smiled. The plan was perfect. Once Harris and the others were away from the bank everyone would think they had gotten away with the money. Over 10 million dollars. No one would even think to look anywhere else except south of Philly.

Suddenly someone identified themselves as a police officer and shots began to ring out. Grimes looked toward the front of the bank horrified. From where they were standing they couldn't see into the lobby of the bank.

"Son of a," Grimes swore. "How did the cops get here so quickly?"

"Someone must have triggered the silent alarm," said Sheraton.

"We're screwed," said Grimes. "Harris and the others will never make it out of the bank. Once the cops begin looking around they're going to figure out what happened. We'll all end up in prison."

"Don't panic," said Sheraton. "We're too close. Just follow the plan. We can't deviate now. It's too risky."

"No," said Grimes turning to move to the back door. "If we put the money back there will be nothing to connect us with the robbery. They'll think Harris and the others were the only ones. All we have to do is put the money back and pretend we're just innocent victims like everyone else."

Sheraton glanced toward the front of the bank. A firefight was raging in the lobby. There was no telling how many people would be injured or even killed. And over 10 million dollars worth of money couldn't be replaced before the fight was over and people would begin looking around. It was a risk but he knew they had to chance that at least a couple of the robbers got away from the bank.

But Grimes was panicking. If he tried to put the money back they'd be caught red handed. The whole plan would fall apart and everyone would know they were involved. He had to do something and he had to do it fast. Grimes was never going to listen to reason.

Sheraton realized he had very little choice. He wasn't going to prison for anyone. He pulled out a small .22 caliber pistol he had purchased several months before for protection. In all the confusion no one would be suspicious. Grimes would simply be another casualty of the robbery that day. Without hesitation Sheraton put the gun to Grime's head and pulled the trigger once. Grimes fell dead on the floor. Quickly Sheraton hid the gun in a nearby heating vent intending to retrieve it when things died down and moved to the vault to wait for the firefight out front to stop.

"So Sheraton and Grimes were the inside men after all," said Nick as Lilly looked over Sheraton's statement. "And no one suspected them for 30 years. It was nearly the perfect crime."

"What happened to the money?" Will asked.

"According to Sheraton, Harrington hid it somewhere after the heist," said Stillman. "Only he, Stapleton, and Harris were killed by the police before Sheraton could find out where he had hidden it. And Sheraton said that none of the others even hinted at where the money was hidden."

"You believe him, boss?" Lilly asked.

"Well," said Stillman thoughtfully, "for a man who supposedly had over 10 million dollars in cash he's lived pretty frugally for the past 30 years. He was the only one who had the connections to get the money laundered. But it doesn't make a whole lot of sense that he'd stick around here with that kind of money."

"Still," said Nick, "he might be smarter than that. He could have had the money laundered and just been very careful how he spent it. Make sure he didn't spend beyond his income so that no one would get suspicious."

"Maybe," said Stillman. "But that's the DA's problem now. Maybe they can make a deal with him. He tells them where the money is and they go easier on him."

"He's responsible for the deaths of 12 people," said Will. "Two of them police officers. And Sheraton killed two of those people himself. At the very least he deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life."

"Oh, I doubt he'll ever see the outside again," said Stillman. "Even if the two murders he committed weren't premeditated he's looking at 12 life sentences. And assuming he has to serve them concurrently he'll probably never live to see his first parole hearing."

"It's better than he deserves," said Nick.

"Well, we've done our jobs," said Stillman. "Good work, people. This is another one we can put to bed."

"Only we never recovered the money," said Lilly.

"We probably never will," said Will. "No one has found it in 30 years. Wherever Harrington hid it it will probably stay hidden for a very long time."

Father Andrew Stillman wiped the sweat from his brow. Replacing the altar was a lot more work than he had initially counted on. The old one must have weighed nearly 300 pounds. They had a winch and pulley system set up to lift the altar off the floor and onto a nearby waiting pallet to move it out of the church.

For an altar that was over 30 years old it wasn't in bad condition. But the new one was finished and the carpenter had done a wonderful job on it. Once the new altar was in place and firmly anchored to the floor the renovations for the church would be complete. In a couple of days they would dedicate the new altar and all the renovations they had made and the church would look nearly like new again.

At a signal from him 2 men began to pull on the rope fastened to the altar. As it rose from the floor, Father Stillman and another man carefully guided the now free swinging altar over the pallet. When it was in position the two men gradually let the altar drop until it was securely resting on the pallet.

"Boy, that was more work than I bargained for," said one of the men on the rope. "But it's out now and the new altar should be easier to set into place."

He moved to the aisle between the rows of pews to get a pallet jack so that they could take the altar out to a truck that was waiting in the parking lot. As he did, the other man that had helped Father Stillman guide the altar to the pallet peered into a depression that the altar had been covering.

"Father," said the man. "This depression is pretty deep. Must be about 2 feet down. And there's something in here. They look like duffle bags. Just like the kind I used to have when I was in the army."

Stillman peered into the depression and saw four duffle bags neatly laid sided by side in the depression. This was very curious. As far as he knew the altar had not been moved since it had first been installed in the church. Which meant that whatever was in the bags was well over 30 years old. A sort of makeshift time capsule.

Cautiously he reached into the depression and lifted one of the bags out. It was heavier than he expected and one of the other men had to help him. When he had the bag lying securely on the floor he unclipped the clip at the top of the bag and opened it. Packets of money fell out littering the floor. He picked up one of the packets and flipped through it. It consisted solely of hundred dollar bills. And they all appeared to be genuine. He looked inside the bag and found it full of similar packets of money.

"Holy cow," said one of them. "There must be a fortune in there. You think the other bags hold money as well?"

"Probably," said Stillman. "And unless I'm mistaken, there's probably just over 10 million dollars in these bags?"

"Ten million?" questioned another man with a Spanish accent. "You think we can keep it?"

"I don't think so," said Stillman. "My brother John was by the other day. He was telling me about a case he was working on. A bank robbery where the robbers got away with 10.4 million dollars worth of money. The robbers were killed being apprehended but the money was never recovered. And one of the robbers used to do volunteer work here at the church."

"But 10 million dollars?" questioned the third man. "That's a lot of money. You sure we can't keep any of it?"

"Would that be honest, Luke?" Father Stillman asked. "We do know where the money came from."

"No, I guess it wouldn't be," said Luke.

"Besides," said Stillman, "nearly a dozen people died during that robbery. Most of them innocent bystanders."

"Holy mother of God," said the man who spoke Spanish, crossing himself. "Blood money. No good can come of that."

"You may be right, Juan," said Stillman. "But I do recall John saying something about a reward that was offered for the return of the money. A reward that apparently is still in effect."

"How much of a reward?" asked Luke.

"About $250,000.00 according to John," said Stillman. "And that money would be clean. Get the rest of the bags out of the hole. I'll go give John a call."

The three men pulled the bags out of the depression and began to look through the bags as Stillman went to call his brother. Ten million dollars was a lot of money and it was nearly a foregone conclusion that none of them would ever see that much money in one place again.

"John?" questioned Andrew on the phone. "I was wondering if you could stop by the church as soon as possible? . . . No, nothing like that. I just have something I want to give you. Oh, you might want to bring a couple of people with you." He glanced back into the sanctuary looking at the three men marveling over the money. "You're going to need some help with this."

Andrew smiled to himself as he hung up the phone. Silently he said a prayer of thanks for the blessing that had just been bestowed on his church.

The End

If you've enjoyed this story, you can find more "Cold Case" stories at my website, Creative Passions, listed in my bio. You can also post your own "Cold Case" stories or other stories if you like to write fan fiction.


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